# How can I get a good credit card? (VERY Long and Whiny)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-a-good-credit-card-very-long-and-whiny/183852>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 23, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-a-good-credit-card-very-long-and-whiny/183852 "2003-06-23T19:59:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-get-a-good-credit-card-very-long-and-whiny/183852/21 "2003-06-24T16:20:44Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by gotpasswords \*  
> \*\*By your own admission, you’ve actually done rather poorly at managing that credit card. I’m surprised they didn’t decrease your line or suspend your card altogether. Being over limit is just about as bad as being late.
> 
> The student loans are really gonna hurt you. Five accounts 5 months delinquent equals a lot of FICO points gone. You need to go to the student loan company and try to get them to change five loans into one. The credit reporting agencies have zero control over this.
> 
> As for waiting until next April for accounts to go into positive status, there’s nothing you can do to hurry that along. \*\*

You are right, I guess I have done badly at “managing” the credit card… I disagree that being over limit is about as bad as being late, though I can understand it if a card provider takes this view. IMO, it is not as bad. Even though I ran into the limit about 4-6 times in the last 3 or so years, I would immeadiatly pay it off completely when this happened, usually even before the monthy bill would come in the mail. I have also been told that this does not impress the card providers; paying the full balance every month and never accruing interest. This may be another reason that I was not considered a “great” customer to them.

The student loans are killing me. I have tried all the angles I can think of to get them to consolidate the five loans into one with regard to the credit reports with no results. I guess I’ll just wait till next year and use my debit card till then.

> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Jonathan Woodall_  
> **By the way, the New England Law Review in and of itself will _not_ get you approved for more cards. Eyer, it will get you more _opportunities_ to apply, but if your acquaintance had credit inadequate to get the cards in question then the preapproval offers he got would _not_ have been of any use.**

True, it was not getting the magazines that got him the cards, but getting the magazine did give him a lot of opportunity to apply. I do not know if he lied on the applications to get the cards or if he just lucked out. I do know that he had declared bankruptcy 2-3 years before getting the periodical and all the cards. He had a lot of tricks for getting credit cards that he told me about, none of which I tried or would ever try. I would never resort to those (IMHO) dishonest methods, just as I would rather not delcare bankrupcty as it is dishonest also. I do think there are circumstanses where it is necessary to declare bankruptcy, but too many people run to it these days instead of being reponsible for the debts (again IMHO).

Thanks all for the input…

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